texas, and abc's chi justice correspondt pierre thomas joins us now with what we know about this hour. pierre? >> reporter: tom, law enforcement sources, two of them tell me that justice scaliaa passed earlier today, apparently by natural causes in texas. law enforcement officials say it appeared no evidence of foul play whatsoevert this point. i'meing told that the u.s. marshals are on the scene to work with the family, but again, 're being told by two senior law enforcement officials that justice scalihas, in fact, died. >> pierre thomas on the phone for us reporting in. pierre, thanyou so much. and just moments ago, chief justice john roberts issuing this statement on behalf of the court and retired justices. "i am saddened to report that justin antonin scalia has passed away he was an extraordinary strij, admired and treasured.d. his passing is a greatoss to the court and the country he so

we extend our deepest condolences to his family." i want to bring i terry moran, who covers the supreme court heret abc news. terry, talk to me about the legacy tonight on justice scalia. >> reporter: tom, it's a toweringlegacy. not just on the supreme court, butight through all of american law, really, for three decade and more. antoninn scalia led the charge for conservates in american law. led the effort to roll bac what u might call thehe heroic era of liberal activism on the court. the era of civil rights jurisprudence that broke down jim crow and did so much else. scalia thought justices and judges had gone out of control in that era, and he was the intellectual leader, and the leader byheer force of a very strong personality, of the effort to say, there's another way way. the constitution, scalia says, means what it meant to the people who wrote it and ratified it. and in decion after decision,

on, not where he was in the majority, but even more important, in this sense, where he lost, and yet was freed up to with a kind of claire yan call to conservatives in and out of the courts say, ststop. judges should not be this way, that there's another way to do this. it is an incalculable loss, husband death, to the conservative movement. and as we heard, from chief justice rorts, to the court. he was a man who, with a relish for life, that was infek chus, a great sense of humor and a gift for friendship. among those mourning on the court, his best friend on the court, really, justice ruth bader ginsburg, the most l liberal justice. they were very close friends for many years, and even justice el

ena elena kagan, was charmed by him. he introduceder to quail hunting and she went with h every year. so, he was a remarkable man. a man so fulull of life and ideas. controversial ideas.s. he was the boogie man for many, many liberals in and out of the courts. but no question, while there may not be a scalia era on the court, you can't point to thatt many rulings he won, there's scalia influence on the court and in the law. >> and tey, you pointed out with me on the air earlier, he wasn't always on the winning side, as you just said. most recently with same-sex marriage and stipulations for obama care, but one critical role he did play was gore v bush in 2000. talk to me about that case. >> reporter: well, that was the case that tossed the 2000 election into thsupreme court. and in that case, he found with the majori, with chief justice rehnquist and others, that the presidency should go to george

way that florida was recounting all those ballots was a violation of equal protection. they were doing it in too many different ways. the bottom line, bush won the presidency, and there was a huge controversy, as i'm sure you remember, scalia was totally unapologetic about it. in fa, he liked being asked about it, because he liked to throw it back in people's faces with not even a hard case, in his judgment. it was, of course, for the country, but that's the kind of guy he was. he liked a good argument, and usuallyy got the better of it. >> incredible legal mind and for those who knew him personally, a larger than life personality. terry, thank you so much. i want to bring in abc's dan abrams. at this point, there is a vacancy in the supreme court. the line of succession, when supreme court jusce passes away, has to be somehow filled at some point. so, d, if you are on the phone what happens next anddoes president obama have enough time to push through a candidate through congress at this point? >> reporter: so, tom, there are two questions here.

e court in the short-term and then, secondly, the question is, who could be the next supreme court justice? we talalkedbout the short-term on the court. as a practical matter, this is going to create all sorts of gistical issues for the court. because for years, wve been talking now all about these 5-4 decisions. and often, it is five of the cocon conservatives against four liberals. now, in this very short-term period, you're going to have 4-4. and that's goi to mean o one of two things. either that by a 4-4 decision, that the lower court opinion gets affirmed, meaning, typically, if there's a tie, whatever the lower court decided stands. but because this is such a unique situation, what the court may do is, the court may say, you know wh? let's have reargument on this case in the fall. let's deal with this case again later. but there are a whole host of

that this is going to be a critical factor in. then, question two. which is, who could be the next supreme court justice? well, whatever the list had been, it's probably not going to be the list that president obama can consider now. why? because he's only got a limited amount of time in office. and as a result, the republican senate is not going to confirm many of t the potential candidates that he would have been considering. so, if president obama really wantto ensure that another supreme court justice gets seatedquickly, he's going to have to get kind of creative. and maybe even pick a sort of libera republican, maybe pick a foer senator, maybe pick a current senator. someone who could make it through the senate in what would undoubtedly be an incredibly act moan yus proceeding. so, it's going to be vy interesting to see if president

list of potential candidates and creates a new one to, as to who could be the next supreme courtrt justice. >>now, dan, this happens in the middle of an election year, as well. i'm sure is this isoing to come up tonight at the gop repuican debate in south carorolina. probably a question that every single candidate is going to have to answer. if you were put in this position, who would you put at the top of the lt right now, to replace justice scalia, and you were talking about t balance of the court, and even ough he is only one justice, he was such a towering voice on the conservative side of the argument, and whatou were saying earlier, dan, essentially what's going to happen with the supreme court, what might happen is they may just have to hit the pause bostont button on any decisions that c come forward? >> reporter: that'ss right. look, they can have a cice here. typically, again, you know, vy often you have a justice, let's say who has to recuse herself, who says, i can't be part of this case. and when that happens, y can end one a 4-4 desion, which means lower court opinion stands. but now the court may say, you know what? that doesn't make sensese in thi context.

this when there's another person sitting on the court at a later date. so, it's going to be very interesting from a supreme court procedural point of view, what do they do now with this divided court. >> dan abrams for us tonight. dan, thank you so mumuch. d we will have much more on the passing of jtice scalia, who passed away at the age of 79, a towering figure on the supreme court. we will have much ler on this broadcast.t. our thoughts and prayers with the scalia family tonight. we do move onto the extreme weather, and a deadly traffic pileup. look at that. causing dozens of cars to pile up on a major interstate. zens of people injured. 40 hospalized. three losing their lives. abc's eva pilgrim reporting from pennsylvanania tonig. >> reporter: it seemed to come out of nowhere, blinding snow triggering this massive pileup. killing three people, leaving at least 40 injured. >> weave at least 15 people

>> reporter: more than 50 vehicles on i-78 in pennsylvania caught in the crash. five medical chopper rushing to the scene. one moment, the road was clear. the next, whiteout conditions. >> have all ems come to 78 and go westbound in the eastund lane. >> reporter: snow squalls baelling across pennsylvaa highways toy, catching drivers offguard. >> it just sounded like two bombs went off. there were a couple of people laying out. and trucks and cars all sm underneath tractor trailers, in between tractor trailer, and just total destruction. >> reporter: dozens of amlances shuttling some of those drivers to a local fihouse to keep them out of the bitter cold. tonight, everyone has beenless kud rescued, but cars and trucks still on the interstate. tom, you can see the eanup is continuing. the interstate will remain closed until about midnight tonight. state officials asking people to stay off the roads unless they absolutely neeto travel. tom? >> it is a manangled mess behind you. eva thank you so much.

that is also bringing arctic cold fro the midwest to north carolina tomaine. take a look. mis 16 on the thermometer in cedar falls, iowa. the few people ventured out, like this woman in new york city. here's abc's phillip mena. >> reporter: whiteouts mixed bitter cold, sweing east tonight. what does it feel like? >> it's freezing. >> reporter: more than 100 million people bearing bone-chilling temperatures. cities across the northeast declaring a code blue. lice racing to get the homeless off the street. new york city could feel the coldest air in years. wind chills expected to dip to 40 below upstate. and that's where we find teorologist indndra pettersons. >> here in lake erie, you can actually see the line of lake effect snow that is forming something you should not be seeing in february as the lake shouould be fren over. >> reporter: we've seeeen on thermal cameras how the body's heat escapes around collars and zipperers. doctors urging people to take this weather seriously. >> if you're o out with exposed

10 to 15 minutes, you can start feeling symptoms o of burning, stinging, pain in your extremities from the cold. >>eporr: after you've been in the cold, take your time warming up. don't rub your hands together. that can only cause more damage. and use laukwarmwater, not hot, to warm your hands. another concn? your home's wateter pipes. keep a steady drip to those pipes don't freeze. and know where that shutoff valve is in case they burst. and tom, another tip? experts say you should keep the thermostat on your home at a consistently warm temperature. and inside your home is exactly where you should be tonight. 0 officials are advising people in this regn to stay inside. tom? >> phillip mena tonight. thank you. still ahead tonight, the death of justice scalia, sure to be part of tonight's republin showdown. the gop rivals taking the stage. the war of words heating up

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welcomeback. the death of supreme court justice scalia putting a somber cast on tonight's republican presidential debate in south carolina. but the battle on that stage certain to be fierce anyway. abc's mary bruce in south carolina for us tonight. >> reporter: tonight, a critical moment in the gop race for president.t. th candidates, tearing each other apart. se to faceoff on a debate stage in south carolina. >> find out where he gets his money. >> reporr: donald trump and ted cruz poised for an ugly evening. >> as it gets closer, it's going to get nastier and nastier and nastrr and they get personanal, they get ugly. >> reporter: and it's already pretty ugly. with one primary win each, cruz and trump are clobbering each other to take the third contest. trump taking it to a new level, threatening to sue. tweeting, if ted cruz doesn't clean up his act, stop cheating and doing negative ads, i have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen.

>> t there's me than a little irony in donald accusing anyone of being nasty. >> reporter: already looking beyond the primary, cruz is taking on clinton in a vicious new ad. damn it feels good to be a clinton a shameless politician always plays her cards right >> let's dispel with this fiction that barack obama doesn't know what he's doing. he kws exactly what he's doing. >> reporter: senator marco rubio will try to turn things s around, and avoid a repeat of his dismal performance at the last debate. ohio governor john kasich, hoping to ride the wave of his strong second place finish in new hampshire, appealing to religious voters. >> i found the lord a long time ago. >> reporter: hi, governor, how are you? he insists all the talk about his faith isn't part of a d deliberatstrategy. >> look, whether i win or lose, my life is great. and the lord loves me. and, so, it is not about, like, i'm going to deploy something to win a vote. if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. >> reporter: and tom, ery candidate here tonight has a lot to lose. soh carolina is known for

so, while trump and cruz duke it out, the other candidates will be trying to break through, reaching out to traditional conservative supporters. tom? >> mary, thank you. and when we come back, more on tonight's breaking news. the death of supreme court justice antonin alia. and pope francis on an historic trip to mexico. stay with us. frustrated with your overactctive adder medicine not working? can't handle the side effects? botox treats symptoms of leaking, going o often, and the strong sudden need to go. ask your urologist if botox can help calm your bladder

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finally tonight, we return to that breakingg news. supreme court justi scalia, dead at the age of 79. he died in his sleep at a resort in texa leaving behind his wife, maureen, and their nine children. chief justice johnn roberts issuing a statement just moments ago, calling scalia's passing a great loss. for a look back at his life and legacy, let's go back now to abc's terryry moran.. terry? >> reporter: well, tom, justice scalia is one of those justices who w remember not just for the rulings that he handed down in the majority, but for his dissen and even beyond that. for the words he wrote.

supreme court, with the possible kagan. and he was just a person that reshaped the debate about the constitution. that's whyhe's a hero to so many conservatives, that's why he's such a figuree forebodingng for so many liberals. >> and terry, how hard do you think it will be for the publicans, if they do get their opportunity, say, come next year, to put somebody of that magnitude back on the court? >> reporter: well, it's going to be verery diffict, because it t is now, obviously, a battlegrnd, with the death of justice scaa scalia. his career in the supreme court was that he desperately wanted to overturn roe vsus wade. it'sne of the rsons that ronald reagan put him on the court, and he was never able to, and now that will be the leading point of debate in his

will the next justice be as conservative? democrats do hold almost a filibuster strength in the united states senate, so, whoever gets to appnt the next justice is going to be dealing with a much more polarized washinon. justice scalia may be the last of an era, a justice who got in, in a time when the supreme court sn't such a battleground. >> terry moran reporng in from mexico city. terry was covering pope francis' visitt in mexicocity, but of course, he covers the supre court for us. and he was able to step up and really explain and put ts into context, what the passing of such a conservativ titan like antonin scalia and his time and legacy on the court. your reporting. we'll have much more on the passing of justice scalia on "gma" and "this week" in the morning. i'tom llamas. i'll see you right back here tomorrow nigight.

good night.winter weather advisory in effect for northern iowa tonight and tomorrow morning. 6" of snow there. to come together along a warm front through siouxland. we'll see more snow overnight. temperatures are also cold... single digits in northern iowa. tonight we'll have rising temperatures, snow and gusts to 30. a warmer valentine's day is in the forecast, details next but first here's jess with your local news. " "

thanks for joining us... i'm jess plue. we begin this evening with the unfortunate passing of supreme court justice member, antonin scalia (skah-lee-ah). jess at age 79...scalia passed this morning while enjoying a hunting trip in texas. he served the supreme court for 29 years... as the longest- serving justice on the court, scalia became senior associate justice...appointed by president ronald regan himself in 19-86. friday night, scalia told friends he wasn't feeling well and passed away in his sleep this morning. we will have more on this story as officials continue to release details. jess: a former saturday night live comic will perform tonight at the hard rock cafe. chris kattan is in sioux city for one night only and abc 9's bria bell has more bria this is chris kattan's first time

and despite today's weather, he's received a warm welcome and will host two shows tonight at the hard rock. known for his night live, but kattan has now transitioned his comedy. though the outcomes of remain the same by resulting in the audience's says there's a difference between his snl days and standup comedy. "the big difference i think in stand ups and saturday night live is you know, you have to control the only person there, so you know you they say you have to have to have fun. well i'm very excited about tonight, i'm forward to it . i like have a blast ," says kattan. tickets are still on sale and there will be bria: two shows one at 7 and another tonight at 9. reporting live in studio, bria bell abc 9 news. jess musicians in need received a welcomed gift at the sioux city music conservatory today...lightly used instruments were donated to those wishing to play, but can't